I know this is a PITA but I hear it works. Placing plastic bags over the prop and lower units if you're not going to use 'em for awhile has gotten some positive press. I've thought about doing that with some kind of a corded tearaway so I don't have to go in the water to take them off.

__________________

__________________
Never, ever, ever take a sleeping pill and a laxative at the same time.

thanks for the info Mark. I was actually looking for a schematic of the top of the saildrive unit where it connects to engine. I seem to have a slow leak from the top of both sail drives. I wanted to see if there was a gasket under the plate where it seems to be leaking. I found another schematic of the 130S-A and it doesnt show a gasket. This is what I have been told, that there is no gasket but I wanted to make sure. How can you order that engine catalog? I cant access it from the link you posted.
thanks,
Lori

lori I was having the same problem untill I barely noticed that the Oring on the dipstick were responsable for the leak.You don't want to go too tight on those things. Not a drop of fluid since that.
JC.

Thanks both of you for the info. I will check the dip sticks. Did you just loosen them or did you replace the O rings? I think its strange that both sides are leaking but the right side had major work done to it so that is not unexpected. I wasnt sure it was the plate but I did consider the dipstick and the shaft. I planned to clean it all up good and take her for a spin and see where leak was.
Lori

Mark,
I forgot to respond to your question. The fluid is transmission and is collecting in "flutes" on top of plate where connection is. It has to be either leaking plate, leaking shaft that goes through plate or the dip stick as nothing else is above that.
Will let you know what I find on looking at dip stick.
Lori

All -- check with your Volvomechanic; Volvo recently issued updated guidance indicating that owners of S130 saildrives should NO LONGER use automatic transmission fluid (ATF) but should instead use 15W40 oil.

The plate on top of the sail drive needs an anerobic sealant ... no gasket, and it needs to be applied with care. I have had a persistent leak there, annoying at best, and it took me awhile to isolate and fix.

Volvo sells a very expensive red sealant that works, or you can go to an auto store and get the anerobic liquid gasket. make sure you clean the old sealant very carefully -- don't let it fall into the gears!

It's tough to grab most of the ATF/oil out, but it's a lot easier if you open the top plug (where you check the oil level), and then use electrical tape to create a seal as you slide the tube down the vent and draw the oil out of the vent hole ... it;s tough to get the vacuum going, but you can get all but about 0.5 liters out that way ...

This is all very interesting news to me as my right sail drive needed be removed and new plates put in at 2 years (2009). When they went to do the work there was engine oil in the transmission and so this voided the warranty (I didn't put engine oil in there, some maintenance person did it where I keep my boat in charter). If they are now recommending engine oil to be put in the transmission then they cant say that the engine oil caused the problem and it should have been covered under warranty. This was about a $3000 job so I think I am going to have to go back to my Volvo rep and see what they say. Does anyone else know of anyone who had to replace their plates?
thanks,
Lori

Hi all,
Prescribing a non-synthetic 15W40 is a bit strange. I have been reading a bit about engine oil on Wikipedia, and thinking.
A 15W40 non-synthetic seems to be a basic oil of 15W quality, meaning viscosity 15 when cold. A single grade would become too thin when hot; therefore dopes have been added which increase the viscosity to 40 when hot.
Thing is that these dopes are rapidly destroyed by the action of the gears, effectively reducing the oil from 15W40 to 15W30 to 15W20 etcetera.
This effect is a good reason for taking a synthetic oil, which according to Wikipedia has a "flatter" curve of viscosity vs temperature.

BUT. I guess the oil in the saildrive does not become hot at all. Of course the gears are disspipating some horsepowers, but the cooling of the saildrives could hardly be bettered, unless you were motoring in one of the ponds in Yellowstone or Iceland. But in those cases where you are actually sailing in seawater below 30 centigrade I guess the oil would be used in the 15W range.
So if the reason is not the multigrade, what is the reason for prescribing this oil? Maybe some anti-wear properties for these same plates?
It would be nice if Volvo Penta could shed some light.

And Lori, yes I know of a boat which had worn plates. After 2 years/20,000nm (skippered charter) the friction plates (for switching FW <-> REV) were worn out and replaced under warranty. Maybe there is a relationship.
Jef

Having read the new service manual, I would like to point out that the reference to the use of synthetic oil is only under the engine lubrication section. not under the saildrive section. I'll stick with regular oil in the saildrive.

Mark
I agree that it can be interpreted that way. I still come back to the Volvo parts section where it is referenced that 15W40 is engine AND drive lubricant and synthetic oil is engine only.
I'll stick to regular 15W40 until Volvo expressly states synthetic is OK for saildrive as they did for engine oil.
My 2 cents, for what it is worth.